The German Presidential Election.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20496, 15 March 1932, Page 8

The German Presidential Election.

The result of the first ballot in the German Presidential election is at once reassuring and a warning. FieldMarshal von Hindenburg has only just tailed to get an absolute majority, and his victory in the second ballot on April 10th should therefore be certain. But in such a situation nothing can be certain, and the second ballot, instead of being a mere formality, will show how far tho Communists and the Nazis, who have in common "the desire to repudiate Germany's external obligations, will be able to work together. At the time of the Young Plan referendum and at various times in the last twelve months their tendency to cooperate caused some alarm, but Hcrr Hitler's recent declaration that ,only the Nazis stand between Germany and Bolshevism seems to show that there is little chance of his Party's getting much support from the extreme Left. In any case, even a heavy "swing of Communist votes to Herr Hitler should not envon Hindenburg's chances of re-election, or, for a period at least, Germany's fulfilment of her international obligations. The length of thut period will depend, however, on tho

way in which she is treated by the i former Allied Powers, and they will be very unwise if they do not remember that, although the present election has shown that the majority of Germans are still against extremist remedies, it has also shown that the Hitler movement is making rapid progress. In the Reichstag elections of September, 1930, the Nazis polled 6,000,000 votes and increased their representation from 12 seats to 107; in the Presidential election they have polled over 1.1,000,000 votes. If they can do as well in the next Reichstag elections they may easily win enough seats to make it impossible for a moderate Government to hold power, since the moderate vote in a Reichstag election will necessarily be more divided than in tho Presidential election. Unless there is a revision of the reparations settlement, an extension of long-term credits, and a redemption of the promise in the Treaty of Versailles that the disarmament of Germany would be the basis of a general measure of disarmament by all the Powers, the future of Europe*will remain dark.